Who knew? Virgin America is now the second-biggest airline in terms of traffic at San Francisco International Airport. Not bad for a 6-year-old Bay Area startup that makes traveling by air a less discomforting experience for the hoi polloi than that provided by the merged monoliths.

Had the merger between American Airlines and US Airways not been challenged by the U.S. Justice Department this week, Virgin America would have lost that second-place position at America's seventh-largest airport, which makes it the latest piece of good news for the company, headquartered in Burlingame.

Last week, coinciding with the sixth anniversary of its first flight from SFO, Virgin America reported a small profit: $8.8 million in its latest quarter. Admittedly, that was only the second recorded profit in its existence, but there's more to come, promises CEO David Cush.

"Our company is now poised to produce meaningful profitability," he said, commenting on the earnings report and increased operating income.

In contrast to a number of other airlines, Virgin American also announced Monday a year-over-year increase in number of travelers, miles flown and the percentage of seats filled (82 percent). "We're one of the few airlines recording increases in revenue per available seat mile," Cush said this week.

The corporate growth has been boosted by the opening in the past four months of daily nonstops from SFO to Newark, N.J. (it already flies into JFK), San Jose to LAX, and Los Angeles to Las Vegas. The Newark route has been a particular winner in terms of corporate travel, Cush said. And having gates at Newark "gives greater utility to the rest of our network," he added.

Then there are the consumer kudos. So far this year, Virgin America has been named Best Airline by Consumer Reports and Best Domestic Airline by Conde Nast Traveler and Travel + Leisure. TripAdvisor gives it four stars across the board. It also topped the annual Airline Quality Rating compiled by aviation and marketing experts at Purdue University and Wichita State. The rating measures the number of on-time boardings, denied boardings, mishandled baggage and customer complaints among 14 domestic carriers. US Airways and American ranked ninth and 10th respectively. United, the biggest airline at SFO: dead last.

Virgin America has had its share of challenges - like loosing oodles of money - and may continue to have them. Last year, the company implemented cost-cutting measures, including reducing or deferring the purchase of 50 jets and a slowdown in hiring. "We knew we had to get to critical mass - around 50 airplanes (it has 53) - but doing more would cut into our growth. It was a decision we had to make," Cush said. A financial restructuring, completed in May, cut the airline's debt load by $300 million.

The company said it will resume buying some new jets in 2015. But such expansion plans, including continued profitability and an IPO - which is definitely in Cush's sights - depend to some extent on factors outside the company's control. Lower fuel prices, for example, contributed significantly to Virgin America's positive earnings, as it they have other airlines. Cush said the company's near-term projections assume fuel prices will remain at their current level, at least through the end of the year. After that, who knows?

"If I could accurately predict the oil markets, I wouldn't be in the airline industry," he said.

For the time being, thanks to the halt on the American-US Airways merger, he's happy with the airline's strength at SFO and its stylish new digs at Terminal 2.

"It was a bit extraordinary, because it was so unexpected," said Cush, who worked for American for 25 years, commenting on the Justice Department's move. "It's certainly a change for the Justice Department, which now seems more interested in competition in the airline industry."